Crude oil prices suffered amid returning risk aversion but an intraday recovery erased losses for a near-flat close by day’s end. The bounce came after Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih said his country does not intend to use energy prices as political tool, intending instead to boost output to 11 million barrels per day.

That might have been seen as stretching global production capacity, leaving little room for a ramp-up in the event that global demand surprises to the upside. US output may be an insufficient offset without room for a Saudi boost as sanctions on Iran and Russiatightening and Iraq runs into infrastructure hurdles.

Meanwhile, gold prices edged down within a now-familiar range (see chart below) as the US Dollar showcased its recently reclaimed haven appeal. The Greenback rose as Wall Street closed